Track coupler



@ci 49 i949. P. A. STURTEVANT I 2948397421 A TRACK COUPLER Filed March14, 1946 Patented Oct. 4, 1949 lcifisa'ni-r Timon Courir-En "riti'Ajsmrcevantfnlihliiist, nl; applicati@ March r4, 1Mo-"serial No. censor"io'iola'ims (01."273'84241) Thisv invention "relates to ltrackrailcouplers or j 'ointsandtparticularly-toi such vaszmay' be usedzforjoining the vrails of. sinallwindustria-l,railroads, miniaturerailroads-,\toy electric and other trains. etcz, 'and for assembling;:cbnnectingbeanis in structural Work.

Heretofore such ydevices have'been more oril'ess complicated, involvingydetachable parts, sliding connections, nuts yand bolts, andthe like,and arie diiicult yto assemble', :maintain and; disassemble. Pants arevliable to be mislaid or. 10st, to be distorted in attemptingtofas'semble or takel apart; the :alignment "is` not ,good zand. vthejoints come apa-rt.

`It -S one object `of `this :invention to pr'ovide 'a couplerl 'Whichis-Aautomatic: in fits `locking v"and aligning features; vwhich lisv:extremely simple lin its construction .and method VofTassexnb1jr-a1'a'd disassembly, cannot fbe 'fdistorted fin. Aassembly ordisassembly',xhas 11o-separate pieces :to Ybe mislaid and 10st, and.which `is yrugged inconstruc'- tion, ecient inr operation, economical inmanufacture-, andfoi long life.`

-In carrying out `the invention .in the lpreferredr form, -a couplingplate ma-ybe rivetedror otherwise-'secured to a flange atoneo theAadjacent ends `of therail sections or connecting beams to. be joined.rEhe projecting :end of thepiate ma'y be'piovided withv spacedtongues-or ifingers which are bent to `pass through openings or notchesformed in a flange of the other adjacent railsection or -rconnecting;beam end', one on feach Vside of the Web of theraiL `'Ilieend :oftthe'second. section of Athe rail -or connectingY beam bears againstthese vfontfamily projecting tonguesrand the ends ofthe tongues #bearagainst -vone face of the flange beyond the notches, vWhile theslantingor 'diagonal parts of Ythe ton-guesfe'ngage vwith the edges of thenotchesfin theiiangesfand'slide `and lock the rabutting Vends of the"sections in proper position with nrespect. to each other.

To assist lin vthe alignment of the; rail sections or connectingbeams-and maintaining" them in that condition, apair of 4side rail clipsmay be riveted or otherwise secured 'to-'the web :of the one section and4grip the sides of the Web'of the other section when the -two'adjacentends voi the sections arefbrought. together. j c

The attachment is conveniently -rmade by tilt.- ing the adjacent;-sections upward slightly in order iorpsmii thehboliegvefihesvizvortinanesiiwning and. locking. -nglers crimenes. through the'slots or openings in the iiang'e f theother 'section, Then viih'en thetrack lor connectingfbeain sections are `r1oit/'ered or pusheddownwardly', the

i3 two ysections' are Adrawn together into properposition by the tonguesand notches andzthe side clips engage the Webrof the opposite .end,fandboth sections arefthus tightly -held together iin perfectfalignmentjbothy horizontally and vertically andcare locked againstlongitudinalseparation, and any Weight imposed on the joints .only tends:to hold lthem :the more tightly together.

s The-disassembly is equallysimple and expeditions.` The rail' orconnecting beam sectionsare simply raisedat the 'joint and the sectionsf'will eomeapartforfcan bereadiiyzpulledapart. There are no nuts andbolts to takeout and fiese, fno sliding members which stick and refusetoslde, and no vv'loosepieces to be taken care of and'aptto-befmislaidand lost. s

This `ease and dispatch of assembly and disassembly is particularlyimportant andI valuable in connection with miniature vtrains andrailroads for #street #Carnivals and the vlike, Whichn'otonly move.frequentlybut Where it isim-portant toget the railroad and )trainsstarted early at newil'ocations toattract attentionand excite theinterest of the public .in the Acarni-val as a Whole'as well as in therailroad and trains. Il-reoluently, .with this inyentionrthe miniaturetrains andrailroad Vare the first attraction voperating at a carnival,and their quick and readyassemblagefrom the'trucks tov operative`condition never fails to 4attract the public. c c

In such-places, too, theresis frequently not suicient 'time to -eyen oirthe surface .of the ground accurately where the railroad is to be laid,so that some of the joints between rail or trackdsections may'not bewell supported, but with these -jointsfthey support the load and trainsregardless and any tendency to be depressedby the weight only/ looksthem together-the tighter.

And :thevsameismtrue for toy trains and railroads, Where :perhapsiorlack of room the track cai-1 be permitted to b e `laid v on the floorlfor a limited time Vonly and then must be taken .away and .stored-` nAQhildren,jaije apt to be linripatient in getting ready to. startthetrains as well as in packing upv afterwards," and` may not khaveacquired jsufiicient mechanical skill to operate sliding or other trickyconnectors Which are diicult to handle, and theywfare apt to `resortto`force, sunclflr as Yjumping on the jointsin an attempt to straightenthem outl withthe result that the )darts are distorted `ror destroyed,and the dilculty may not. be readily overcome.

Eutttith vthis intention there yare no loosey parts Y sections aremerely grasped,l brought and hooked It is taken as cheapness ofconstruction and efficiency of operation, al1 make it especiallyadvantageous and important.

Further objects and advantages will appear from the detailed descriptionand claims to follow, in connection with the accompanying drawing whichillustrates, by way of' illustration and not of limitation, anembodiment of the invention, and in which- Fig. l is a plan view of therail joint;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation, looking toward the right end of Fig. 2, therail, however, being shown in section;

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the meeting ends of track sections with thejoints applied to the rails;

Fig. 5 is a detail View of the rail joint looking in the direction ofthe line 5--5 of Fig. 4, but with the ends of the rails tilted up inposition to thread or hook the tongues on one rail through the flangeopenings on the other;

Fig. 6 is a similar view onV the line 6-6 of Fig. 4 showing the sameparts and positions with re'- spect to the other rail of the tracksections;

Fig. '7 is a detail plan View of the end of the rail having the flangeopenings;

' Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the bottom plate with its interlockingand supporting tongues; and

Fig. 9 is a cross section of the ties.

Referring to these drawings. the adjacent rail sections I and I I, asseen in Figs. 1 to 3, are preferably square-ended, the one rail I havingopenings I2, preferably in the form of open-ended slots or notches, Fig.'7, in one of its flanges near the end of the rail and one on eitherside of the web I4 of the rail. While openings I 2 are shown in bottom:Gange I3, it will be understood that the structure shown isillustrative only and that openings I2 need not be located in bottomflange VI3 solely.

A track coupling clip, Fig. 8, which may be in the form of a plate I5,is secured by rivets I6, or otherwise, to the underside of the bottomflange Il of the abutting rail end IIJ. The plate I may be substantiallythe width of the bottom flange of the rails, if openings l2 are locatedin bottom flange I3, and is provided with two forwardly projectingspaced tongues I3 underlying the bottom of rail end II'. These tonguesor fingers I8 may be bent or formed with slanting portions I9 passing upthrough the openings or slots I2,V respectively, in the bottom flange I3of the other rail end II, and with end ,portions 2i! extending over andbearing upon the top side of the bottom flange.

When the two rail sections are assembled as in Figs. 1 and 2, the bottomend of the rail section II rests upon the plate I5 and tongues I8 and issupported thereby, and the ends of the tongues rest and bear upon theiiange I3 and are supported thereby, so that the two abutting ends ofthe rails interlock and support each other. Any tendency to separatelongitudinally in use 4 or to pull apart is resisted by the portions I9of the tongues I8 engaging the edges 2| of the slots I2, and both edges2|' and 22 of the slots engaging the slanting portions I9 tend to guideand bring the ends of the rails together in the desired positions whenthe joint is being assembled.

These tongues or fingers I8 are hooked or inserted through the openingsI2, as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6, by slightly raising the adjacent endsof the rails and directing the ends 2n into and through the openings I2in the bottom flange of the other rail, and then lowering the two ends.In such lowering of the ends, the edges 2| and 22 of the openings orslots tend to engage and slide along the inclined or offsetting portionI9, so that when in horizontal position, as shown in -Fig. 2,

-the ends of the rails are drawn closely together in alignment positionsand are automatically locked against longitudinal separation or movementby the tongues and notches. A slight clearance is left between the endsof the rails for expansion and contraction purposes, 1%;4 of an inchbeing suicient in the particular instance of Fig. 4l. The joint is thusself-supporting vertically by the interlocking hooks or tongues andopenings and any rotational tendency is prevented.

Side clips 30 of relatively heavy material are secured, as by rivets 3ior otherwise, to the web of one rail end, in this instance the end II,and project forwardly to engage and tightly grip the web of the opposingrail end when the joints are assembled, as in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The freeends of these side clips are bent, curved or flared outwardly a little,as at 32, to receive between them the end of the web I4 of the oppositerail section as the two rails are lowered into final locking positionafter being hooked together by the tongues I8. Thus, as shown in Fig. 5,at the rst hooking of the rails in their tipped-up position, the clipshave not engaged the opposite rail web. But, as the two ends of therails are pressed down or lowered to the horizontal position, the clipsslip over the two sides of the web and slide down into the position ofFig. 2. The flaring ends 32 ensure this proper action even though thetwo rails, at this time more or less loosely hooked together should nothave their webs in exact alignment at the start. The side clips thuscontinually align or ensure the alignment of the webs and assist thebottom clip in aligning the two rail sections in the joint.

The track surfaces of head or heads ofthe rails are at the same level atthe juncture 33, Fig. 2, since the rails are of the same height and thebottom of rail II is supported on the tongues I8 and plate I5, 'whichAextend forwardly from the bottom of rail Il).

The coupler is thus automatic in its positioning, locking and aligningfeatures.

While aligning side clips 30 are shown attached to the rail sectionhaving the slots I2 in the lower flange, they4 may be applied to theother section so far as their main functions are concerned. But thearrangement shown is preferred for various reasons, including thestrengthening of the end having the notches cut in the flange, ease ofmanufacture, and other reasons.

Fig. 5 shows the invention embodied in complete track sections, such asmay be used in miniature railroads, and the like.

In such track sections the rails and cross members, corresponding toties in railroad lines, are all secured tightly together and are handledas such units in assembling, disassembling, transporting'and storing.

reversed intpositiomon .the tworraiis ci the tra-cit atthe .mints-'Thus,.thetwoclipsiare attachedto the upper rails. inv fEig. v:4.ign.the position aseshownin 21,. 2,. `B and 5, while .they reversed.inlpositioncon. theiother-'rails'of 4V.th-e ii' @intasfshowxrzinfsaidtfgure and in Eig. @6. IOtheiwvise there inoidiiereneein f construction .and -operation.

. efendsfofthe itrachisections may `Joe coupled together YbyL-slightiy:their ends z andsub" stantialily Ssimuitanseously threadng'the tongues1&3 thifotiglfr.then-'slots` lf2.. of the lower yflange Vof the'gcthermail: sections; and:thenllcweringor pushing'fdown 'itl-1e. :hooked .ends:of 'the :sections .In such lowering of rtheinintszthe.track-sectionsand vrails iare :automatically 'aligned :and locked., as described...my-load imposed on :the rai-ls .and idi-'nts-.f-'only.Lholdsnthemlmore.tightly .together in alignment both vertically andhorizontallyieverallimpertant advantages -`resiilt from .this

reversal ci .position .of the locking .and aligning clips :on the lwo:rails tof :thev sections. Al/T'lflatever speci @stresses.'an'dstrains-sniaydevelop in one railc'efi thetrarclgadue to thelo'catien'eofithe bottom clips 'onezrailzand the I.slots and :side.clips 'onthe'otherabuttingirail at afjeintiofithe sectionsWilli-beioiset or balanced `hy'those .simultaneously .develop'edjn theother .rail .of the joined sections. Arbetteribalarrced andfstrongerzjointicf theitrack sections results..

sAgaimfwithltlreelips and 'flange slots 'reversely disposed dnthis:mannen ythe -endsfof :the track sectionsrare .theisameiandiitidoes notmatter-Which Aenolsaolf `the sections Vare brought together .tor:joining .herezare no.spairsaorrightsiandileitsto bel :kept 2in. animi.ziny laying. .the :traclvor 'in the handling.. -rloafiding zand storing'of fthe sections. This :is :of 'importance iin 'systems `Where :speedof handling :and-track 'layinggis imperiative,l asin miniature.railroads',:fand is specially :desirable- 2in tracks-afer 'teyftradnsrwhere children areaintended to hanrll'efthefsame- 'lloattentionneed be paid as to which ends of the sections are to be joined.

This arrangement also insures vthe proper joinu ing ot the .rails .at.the .endsof .the .track sections,

since it is necessary to thread the tongues 'through the slots in bothrails before they can be lowered even approximateiy ior locking.

While' the track rails are :preferably .of subh vstantia-lly- .thecross-sectionyshown, they be varied fas desired. 'friendV that `forcommercial miniature railways, apparatusnof the full scale ofthezdrawingsgsaye Fig. 4, is satisfactory, the rails being about onefoot apart inthe track-and an "all-metal or steel constructionthroughout bein-g. used. Obtieus-ly; forrother `ilsnzrrposes thedimensions and .materials may be adapted therefor.

As previously stated, openings l2 and plate i5 need not be limited intheir location to bottom anges I3 and I1 because it is apparent thatsub- In practice; applicant :has

"stantially fthe-same *results can bei obtained rin 'structures having'.these vlaarts locatedaelse'where .as :ferrfexanipleftheupperzflarigesas yby'f'recesss'- ing. .plate "Hi .income railfsection land extendingtongues l 8-\ downwardly throughY theropenings t2 dispesedlin :the'.-adjacent #rail :section It is v.intended therefore that-tli-ewscope.Tof y.the .ini'r-ention 'shallffextendftor coversuch variations.

iMoreoverathe typeof. jointfdis'close'd hereinsmay be :used tor other'.purposes 'Without "departing i:the scopeof ythe invention. Forfexample,connecting fbeams 2 in structural Work may havethis-joint?appliedftherebetween; Such connecting beamsil'iaveheretofore-been tied together by bolts, .bars and other :tie`platesthatnecessitatedA special assembly work by `.la-bor ori-the -joband required time fand :additional :tools :to complete'I .the '-saime.The use .of.my .improved .typei-of joint-provides: an exceptionallystrong. connection fand :eliminates Athis-.special'assemblyWork andlabor. Thezappli'- vcatlon :of a tload lor any increase thereof while.the dead fis applied. :tends to increasevthe i locking grip-.or action.between the connecting. beams. The parts A.cannot YJoeidislodged. ibutfirmly vheid together., the .assembly being Sim-ple as=heretoimei-.explained .while no :removabieivpart fneedabe .use

Without furthervelabbration, tithe -foregoing 'will so `tui-ly explainfthegiszt-of invention that others may, by applyingcnrrentflinowledge',readi- .lllyadapt the samefor 4.use :under -varyingcondi- .tions .oiservicaf-without eliminating :certain fteaFtures,Whichmayproperty be saidato constitutethe essential .itemsoffnoveltyfinvolved, which items vare in-tendedto .bel dened andisecured1to V:ine by .the following-claims l Irelaim:

1. .A .track .rail fjointfeomprising ra .ipa-ir .of rails .having`.adiacentendsf, one of said rail-s having .openings in :a :dangethereof near 'its saidend .and supporting members secured :to the: other'raiiiendsand projecting upwardly Iand forwardly in `supportihgengagement with the end iloffthe opposed...reil,. saidmembers .passingythrong-hsaid `npenings.and .supporti-aghi engaging the upper face :of`said. .aange whereby va self- `ipport-.ag Jointis formed etween the :ais.

.2..- A track .rail joint-comprising .a painof rails .having .adjacentends.. one -of said rails `having openings `adlange thereof near itssaid-end, andsupporti-ng Tmembers: .secured tothe vother rail and.extending .in .supporting engagement ,with .the -end .of said .flangeand fslantingl'y .upwardly .through .said openir-rgs` `in engagement.vvith `the.for-ward. .edge of rsaid* openings and thenceintobearingengagement with the top .face-ofsaidflange -beyond .the openings wherebythe endsare .drawnsand held together and supported rby .said members,openings fand flange engagements.

(3. A.. track. irai-1 joint .comprising a. .pair .of rails.hayingfadjacent ends, one -ofsaid rails having openings Yin .a flange.thereof `hear lits said end, .and supporting members :.secured.. to-Athe other `and Vextending .in supporting engagement withf'the .end ofsaid .flange and v.s1antingly. .upwardly through said .openings in,engagement the :forwardand V.rear .edges of .saidopen- :ings and thenee.in-to 4bearing engagement.. with 'the .top..face. .of .said flangebeyond the .openings .whereby said .ends- .are drawn to. andV .held -in.position Vand .supported by said. members, fopen ings and flangeengagements.

4. A track rail joint comprising a pair of rails having adjacent ends,one of the rails having openings in a ii'ange thereof adjacent butspaced from the end of the rail and one on each side of the web, and apair of spaced supportingtongues secured to and projecting on oppositesides of the web from the end of the other rail, said tongues beingengaged by the end of the firstnamed rail and having offset portionspassing through said flange openings respectively and bearing at theirfree ends upon one face of the flanges adjacent the openings, wherebythe said ends are interlockingly engaged and self-supported in alignmentto form the rail joint.

5. A track rail joint comprising a pair of rails having adjacent endsadapted to form substantially a continuous track rail, one of the railshaving an opening in a ange thereof near the end and on each side of theweb of the rail, and a pair of spaced tongues secured to and projectingforwardly from the end of the other rail also one on each side of theweb of said other rail, said tongues receiving and supporting the 'endof the opposing rail and having intermediate slanting portions passingthrough said openings respectively and adapted to engage the forward andrear walls of the openings, the free ends of the tongues engaging andsupportingly bearing upon one face of the flange beyond the openingswhereby when assembled the adjacent ends of the rails are positioned,interlocked and selfsupported in alignment.

6. A track rail joint comprising a pair of rails having adjacent ends,one of the rails having openings in a flange thereof adjacent but spacedfrom the end of the rail and one on each side of the web, a pair ofspaced supporting tongues secured to and projecting from the end of theother rail also one on each side of the web of said other rail, saidtongues being engaged by the end of the first-named rail and havingoffset portions passing through said ange openings c respectively andbearing at their free ends upon one face of the flanges adjacent theopenings, and side clips secured to the opposite sides of the web of onerail end and embracingly engaging the web of the other rail end wherebythe said ends are interlockingly engaged and selfsupported in alignmentto form the rail joint.

7. A track rail joint comprising a pair of rails having adjacent ends,one of said rails having openings in a flange thereof adjacent the end,one opening on each side of the web, a supporting plate secured to thebottom of the flange of the other rail and projecting beyond the endthereof, said plate having spaced tongues extending slantingly throughsaid openings respectively and bearing on a face of the flange beyondthe openings, said plate, tongues, openings and flange forming aninterlocking self-supporting joint between said ends of the rails, and apair of side clips secured to the opposite sides of the web of the railhaving the openings in its flange, the free ends of said clips embracingthe web of the opposing rail to hold the same in alignment.

8. A track rail joint comprising a pair of rails having adjacent ends,one of the rails having openings in one of its anges near the end, oneopening on each side of the web of the rail, and a supporting platesecured to a flange of the other rail and projecting beyond the endthereof, said plate having forwardly extending tongues spaced onopposite sides of the rail web and with inclined portions adapted to bepassed upwardly through said openings respectively when the ends of therails are raised to a relatively inclined position, the said inclinedportions engaging the forward and rearward edges of the openings whenthe rail ends are lowered to the horizontal position whereby to positionand lock the said rail ends together in alignment, the free ends of thetongues supportingly bearing upon the upper face of the ange beyond theopenings and the end of the rail resting on the said plate and tonguesin advance of the inclined portions whereby the rail joint isself-supporting.

9. A track rail joint comprising a pair of rails having adjacent ends,one of the rails having openings in a flange thereof near the end, oneopening on each side of the web of the rail, a pair of clips secured tothe opposite sides of the web adjacent the head of the rail and havingprojecting flaring ends, and a supporting plate secured to a flange ofthe other rail and projecting tongues with inclined portions adapted tobe passed through said openings respectively when the ends of the railsare temporarily inclined longitudinally toward each other, said inclinedportions engaging the forward and rear edges of said openings and thesaid clips embracing the web of the opposing rail when the said railends are depressed to the horizontal position whereby to position andlock the said rail ends together, the base of the one rail end restingon said tongues and the free ends of the tongues resting on the top ofthe ange beyond the openings whereby the ends are verticallyself-supporting.

10. A track section joint, each section including rails and ties rigidlysecured together, selfaligning and locking connections for the ends ofthe rails of the sections including openings in anges of one rail end ofeach opposed pair of ends, tongues secured to the opposite rail end ofeach pair adapted to be threaded through said openings by tilting thesections at an angle to each other and passing the tongues through saidopenings, the engagement of the tongues and opening walls serving toposition the ends in alignment when lowered to the horizontal, the

end of the one rail engaging said tongues and the free ends of thetongues engaging a face of the flange beyond the openings whereby thejoint is self-supporting, pairs of side clips secured to the web of onerail of each pair and adapted to clasp the web of the other rail whenthe joint is lowered to align the rails at the joints, the ends of saidclips freeing the ends of the opposing rail when the two sections areinclined for connecting the said tongues and openings together.

PAUL A. STURTEVANT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PA'I'ENTS Number Name Date 426,877 Stream Apr. 29, 1890901,857 White Oct. 20, 1908 1,201,725 Hansen Oct. 17, 1916 1,389,781Peifer Sept. 6, 1921 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 175,631 EnglandJune 15, 1922

